Ubuntu 26.10 Beta introduces Rust coreutils and RISC-V support

Canonical has released the beta version of Ubuntu 26.10, codenamed ‘Stonking Stingray’, with a final release targeted for October 15. This interim release includes official RISC-V support for SpacemiT K3 and SiFive BigSky boards.

A major technical milestone in this version is the transition to a fully Rust-based coreutils tree using the uutils implementation. This migration includes the final staples—cp, mv, and rm—which were previously kept as GNU versions for compatibility.

Other significant technical updates include: • The inclusion of the Linux 7.3 release candidate kernel. • Integration of GNOME 51, featuring improved frame scheduling in Mutter and enhanced display settings. • A shift from dbus-daemon to dbus-broker for D-Bus messaging. • Updates to the multimedia stack with GStreamer 1.30 and graphics support via Mesa 26.2. • The addition of Sequoia PGP for memory-safe OpenPGP and a split OpenSSH to reduce the attack surface.